Video | Friday, 7th June 2019

Women’s World Cup: watch one of the first-ever women’s international matches

Fascinating rare film shows packed Cardiff stadium in 1922

Fascinating footage of one of the world’s first-ever women’s international football matches has been unveiled to celebrate the opening of the Women’s World Cup 2019.

From June 7 to July 7, 24 teams from across the globe will compete around France and after 52 games, one team will be crowned champions.

The tournament will be watched across the world as fans cheer on their favourite teams, with many of the players global stars and household names.

It is not the first time the game has enjoyed a high profile. In the 1920s, women’s football matches used to draw huge crowds, often in the tens of thousands.

However, football was deemed unsuitable for women and was essentially banned, creating a gap with the men’s game that would be felt for decades.

One of the leading teams from the 1920s was the Dick Kerr ladies team, from Preston, featuring Lily Parr – one of the first professional women players.

Earlier this week a statue of Lily was unveiled at the National Football Museum in Manchester.

The short film footage, from Manchester Metropolitan’s North West Film Archive, features the Dick Kerr team playing against a French team, in Cardiff, in front of a packed stadium.